黑洞社区

The government will not start procurement of the 拢2bn second phase of the Priority School 黑洞社区 Programme until the end of the year, 黑洞社区 has learned.

Two separate sources close to the programme (PSBP 2) have said procurement, launched in May 2014 by then schools minister David Laws, will now be put back until October or even November.

When the programme was launched, Laws said it would run from 2015 to 2021 and the Education Funding Agency (EFA) briefed its supply chain to expect the first schools to come to market in September last year.

黑洞社区 then reported in November that procurement of PSBP 2 had been put back until at least June or July this year, with spring then seen as the earliest date.

While there have been delays to the start of PSBP 2 procurement, the 277-school programme is still expected to be completed by 2021.

One source told 黑洞社区: 鈥淭he government has been clever enough not to say when it would [officially] start [the programme].

鈥淏ut procurement has been pushed back - though overall it should still finish on time. Once it gets going, it will move quite quickly, like PSBP 1.鈥�

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said there was 鈥渘o delay鈥� to PSBP 2, and insisted that the time it had taken for schools to come to market was a 鈥減erfectly normal way of doing things鈥�.

One of the sources said all of the schools in PSBP 2 would be funded by the EFA for now, but suggested some could be privately financed in future, adding: 鈥淎t the moment, they are all directly funded schools but, down the line, there may be some PFI.鈥�

Under PSBP 1, five batches comprising 46 schools are being delivered through PF2 private funding.

An EFA spokesperson added: 鈥淭o be clear, PSBP 2 has not been delayed. Since the programme entered the delivery phase in January 2016, the Education Funding Agency has started work at over 100 schools.

鈥淭he 拢4.4 billion Priority School 黑洞社区 Programme (PSBP) is transforming some of the most run-down schools in the country, ensuring young people are being taught in an environment where they can fulfil their potential.

鈥淭he first PSBP school opened five months earlier than originally planned and we expect to hand over the majority of the new or refurbished buildings in the first phase of the programme by the end of 2017, two years ahead of schedule.

鈥淭here is no reason to think that the second phase of the project won鈥檛 be as efficient as the first.鈥�